Taking a Gap Year & Volunteer Work
Taking a Gap Year
Extended travelling before work or further education is increasingly regarded as an asset to a CV.
Volunteer Work at a Glance
Volunteering can help with introducing yourself to a new country; settling initial accommodation and food worries without all the hassles of finding paid employment.
100 Free (or Cheap) Volunteer Work Opportunities
Volunteer work has become big business. Hundreds of gap year companies are there to guide timid gappers into a voluntary project, but if you are willing to be brave and do it all yourself it can be much, much cheaper.
Unsure about doing it by yourself and would prefer somebody to have your back. Letty Hardy of Travellers Worldwide gives 12 reasons to volunteer through a structured programme.
Gap Years by Country
Starting with Europe we are adding details of which international and local gap year and volunteer organisations can help you to find voluntary work, internships and working holidays, or to study abroad.
Working Your Ticket - Volunteer to Work at a Music Festival
Some people pay an awful lot of money to stand in the rain and watch their favourite bands. But you can camp away from all the smelly hippies and get a free ticket by working as a festival volunteer.
Students Can Fill the Gap by Going Natives
Every year, once their hangovers have subsided, thousands of jubilant A Level students turn their attentions to the all important job of choosing how to spend their gap year.
Sharks and Dolphins
Deirdre Bounds of i to i International Projects offers advice to gap travellers overwhelmed with the choices available and tips on what to look for in a placement organisation.
A Ridiculous Life
Memories of her gap year in Australia came flooding back when a stranger knocked on the door of Stephanie Lightfoot's London flat.
Gap Travel Health
Travelling to distant countries and experiencing new cultures can be a hugely enjoyable adventure but whether you are planning to travel the world for fun, or intending to work as a volunteer, Travelhealth.co.uk offer the advice needed to take careful precautions to ensure your health and safety.
Jungle Medicine
Raleigh International require Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics to accompany young people on their gap year to the jungle, or to any of the challenging environments in which Raleigh operate.
My Best Unexpected Experience
Intern Melanie Takefman landed in Bolivia with five equally perplexed Canadian interns to teach layout and web design skills in Tarija, a city near the Argentine border.
GAPping and Gaping in Inner Mongolia
Despite taking their gap year at a later age than most, Paul and Jill Quin, a journalist and former IBM PR man and a primary teacher / teacher-of-the-deaf, left their native Portsmouth to teach English in a remote region of China.
Out of Cash in Outer Mongolia
Accountancy is rarely described as adventurous, but Debbie Jeremiah tells how her numerical skills took her to two continents while Jason Christopher opted to practise Expedition Medicine in Patagonia with Raleigh International
Mad in Africa
Conservation is one of many activities that Madventurer gets involved with on its expeditions. Rupert Pate worked with the Arid And Semi Arid Conservation And Development Organisation Of Kenya to help push back the Sahara desert, moving south at 11kms per year.
A Memorable Patient
Elspeth Pitt's Earthwatch expedition to Madagascar led to an unexpected and unique experience with a Lemur.
Done Something Brilliant
Clare made the decision to leave a cushy flat, easy job, boyfriend and all her friends in Brighton to travel to the other side of the world to Madagascar, somewhere she didn't really know anything about.
Volunteer Experiences With Alliance Abroad
By Amelia Jackson Boren. Cutting through the jungle with a machete, feeding cabrito to lions and facing off with six inch long grasshoppers are just some of the adventures encountered by Crystal Calderoni with Alliance Abroad.
Ventures in Africa & Asia
Africa & Asia Venture arrange gap year expeditions. Pete Gomer and Ben Stirling went with them to Uganda.
Save the planet during your vacation: Eco Trips for Tree Huggers
BUNAC Work America
The BUNAC Work America programme, one of many by this long running organisation, is a great way to do something special during your year out before, or after, university.
Career Breaks on the Rise
An estimated extra quarter of a million Britons may be taking a career break according to travel insurance provider InsureandGo.
Letter From Africa
Some of Alice Croydsdill's African adventures described in a letter to her family.
GAP YEAR & VOLUNTEER WORK A to Z
Addresses of hundreds of gap year placement organisations, NGOs, work experience and internships, voluntary projects and expedition organisers:
A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I
J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R
S - T - U - V - W - XYZ
Travel Photographs
Round the Word Trip > Albania > Argentina > Australia > Bolivia
Brazil, Chile, Paraguay & Uruguay > Bulgaria > Cambodia > China
Egypt > Greece > Indonesia > Laos > Macedonia > Malaysia & Singapore
New Zealand > Peru > Thailand > Turkey > Vietnam
Been There, Done That...
Short pieces from those that have taken the plunge:
- Ellie Messham: volunteered in Uganda, 2003
- Sophie Meleif: volunteered in Zambia 2005
- Jolyon Orchard-Lisle: travelled and 'played' in Costa Rica
- Rob Webber: coached and played village football in Ghana
- Tim Rounding: volunteered in Uganda
- Helen & Verity: volunteered in Malawi
Tips & Tools
Travel Tips
Staying healthy and wealthy on the road can be a challenge. Here are a few suggestions as to how it can be done
Catch 22 Travel Tips
After thieves stole his shoes and left him travelling parts of Latin America in his bare feet, Lincoln Yates set up Catch 22 Travel Security Products to stop this
happening to other backpackers.
Here he shares his advice for theft free travels
i-net Cafe Links
Services and tools available on the internet for travellers
Readers Travel Articles
Ramblings of an Irishman
Hairy Irishman Michael Conlon muses on living in China while travelling on a bus from the Cambodian border to Bangkok.
The Inexperienced Traveller
Round the World travel tips and experiences underground in Shanghai. By Jenny Wharton.
Photographs from Taiwan
Though Mike Williams didn't take his camera along to the other China, he still caught some snapshots of life on the island
Rather than action and adventure Sarah Griffin prefers lazy days and lots of alcohol, just like at home, but somewhere really hot. Her stories are told in The Road to Zante and Athens Away
Recommended Reading
Your Gap Year
Providing information on jobs for travellers worldwide, this volume includes voluntary work around the world, joining an expedition, learning a foreign language, gaining some new skill or qualification or simply taking the opportunity to finance future studies.
"The book you need. Recommended" Overseas Jobs Express
Other resources
Directory > Volunteer Travel
From working for an English language newspaper in Mongolia to turtle conservation in Guatemala, a huge range of organised placements are available for a fee
Directory > Expeditions
Character building expeditions to jungles, mountains, deserts and oceans for young people looking for a challenge and adventure
Directory > Internships & Work Placements
Paid work experience in tourism, business, IT, engineering, industry, government, etc. Mostly open to university students and recent graduates
Directory > Courses
Get instruction in mountain or water sports and even qualify to become an instructor yourself. Alternatively, learn to cook or improve a foreign language
Directory > Study Abroad
Longer term study in another country for school or university students. Also include student educational exchanges
Directory > Career Break
A growing range of opportunities are offered to grown up gappers looking to readdress their work life balancing act; or to adventurous retirees with time on their hands
Directory > Student Sites
A selection from the range of resources and information available to students, covering health, discounts, returning to study and what to do after graduation
Directory > Information & Resources
A popular subject, their are a number of websites offering ideas, advice and information on how to best spend your time out
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